Unemployment: day 13
Today we were three, my wife, son and me, went to public office to renewal my wife and son’s My Number Cards. The card must be renewal by ten years, as children by five years. We booked the time of procedure, it had finished in about twenty minutes. After that, we had lunch at the dining of the public office. I had a roast beef ball after a long time. It was moderately delicious.
References
Correct version
Today, the three of us — my wife, my son, and I — went to the local government office to renew their My Number Cards. These cards must be renewed every ten years for adults, and every five years for children. We had booked an appointment in advance, and the whole procedure was completed in about twenty minutes. Afterwards, we had lunch at the office canteen. I had a roast beef rice bowl for the first time in a while. It was reasonably tasty.
IELTS Improvement Points
Collocation:
renew a card / renew one’s ID
→ “Renew” is the correct verb used with documents or ID cards. “To renewal” is incorrect; “renewal” is the noun.
book an appointment
→ A fixed and natural phrase when arranging official visits or services. More formal and appropriate than “booked the time”.
the whole procedure was completed
→ A natural way to describe a process ending officially. “It had finished” sounds awkward and passive.
have lunch at the canteen
→ “Canteen” is more commonly used in British English for government or workplace cafeterias than “dining”.
reasonably tasty / moderately tasty
→ “Reasonably” is more natural here than “moderately” in describing food that’s somewhat enjoyable.
Template:
The three of us — [name1], [name2], and I — went to [place] to [purpose].
→ Useful for clearly listing people and explaining shared actions.
[Something] must be renewed every [X] years for [group].
→ Useful passive structure to explain regulations or repeated tasks.
We had booked [noun] in advance, and [result].
→ Handy for describing preparation followed by a consequence — shows coherence and logical flow.
Vocabulary:
local government office
→ More precise than “public office”, which is vague or non-standard in English.
renewed
→ Verb form of “renewal”; important for formal writing and common in administrative contexts.
procedure
→ A formal noun meaning a set process; commonly used in official or medical/legal contexts.
canteen
→ British English word for a place where meals are served at workplaces or institutions.
for the first time in a while
→ A natural phrase to express. Avoid literal translations like “after a long time”.
